Life casting can be traced back as far as 2100 BC to the face of an Egyptian
king. Making life masks of famous people gained popularity in 14th century
Europe. It was a way to capture the true image of a person before the invention
of photography. A life cast is much better than photography because there
is a direct connection with the life and flesh of the famous. It is like
owning the celebrity; you can touch the face and study it from every angle.
You can study every pore, wrinkle, and scar of the famous.
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The most remarkable life casting artist was Madame Tussaud. Born in 1760,
she became famous for her London Wax Museum. She started taking casts of
the freshly guillotined heads during the French Revolution. Some of the
casts taken by Madame Tussaud were Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and many
of her friends. She describes this event as "Shreeking with horror, but
eager to retain a memento." |
Sometimes life casts are used as reference for other works. The Lincoln
mask taken in 1860 was used by the sculptor to model the face on the Lincoln
Memorial. This cast was also used by the Disney studio for the creation
of the Lincoln figure for the Hall of the Presidents.
In Hollywood, Life Masks are made to design special make up effects for
the movies. The make up artist will cast the stars face so that he can
experiment with various makeup effects without putting the star through
the ordeal. Also, if make up appliances are cast, they can be made from
this model. |
